Kane County Board appoints 2 replacements

Two new members of the Kane County Board were sworn in Tuesday to fill vacancies left by a death and a resignation.

Kimberley Young of North Aurora will represent District 2. She replaces Dale Berman of North Aurora, who died Oct. 4.

Jennifer Abbatacola of Hampshire will represent District 9. She replaces Gary Daugherty, who quit in December.

Both will serve until Dec. 1.

Young initially sought the Democratic nomination in March for the two-year term to fill out the rest of Berman’s term, which was scheduled to end Dec. 1, 2028. She was one of five people who applied for the vacancy.

In November, Pierog said she would not appoint Young or any of the other applicants who were also in the primary because she did not want to give them a perceived advantage in the election.

Pierog nominated Mary Berman, Dale Berman’s widow. The board tabled the vote, and Mary Berman then withdrew her application.

Pierog then nominated Matthew Dingeldein, who is also running in the primary. The board rejected him.

Young then withdrew from the primary.

No Republicans are running in November for the District 2 seat.

Abbatacola is seeking the Republican nomination for a four-year term. Her opponent is Jeffrey Magnussen, who also applied for the vacancy.

The replacements were chosen at a special county board meeting Feb. 4, after being interviewed by a committee and nominated by Pierog.

The votes were unanimous, although District 17 board member Deborah Allan voted “present” on Young’s appointment. Allan, a Democrat, said the board should have waited until after the primary to see who voters wanted to be their representative.

State law says an appointment is to be filled within 60 days of a vacancy.